Veteran Kannada actress Jayanthi passes away

The veteran actress's son Krishna Kumar confirmed the news of her death as he stated that she was recovering from illnesses, but eventually breathed her last during her sleep. She passed away at her residence on Monday.

Called 'Abhinaya Sharadhe' (Goddess Sharadhe in acting), Jayanthi was a prominent name in the Kannada film industry from 1960 to the late 80s. Jayanthi has acted in over 500 movies across languages such as Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi, having shared the screen with legendary actors such as MG Ramachandran (MGR) and Dr. Rajkumar. She has won the Karnataka State Film Awards seven times and the Filmfare Awards twice.

She entered Sandalwood with the film, 'Jenugoodu' directed by Y R Swamy which hit the silver screen in 1968. Her actual name was Kamala Kumari. Earlier, she had played a minor role in the film, 'Jagadeka Veerana Kathe'. She was also seen in a unique role in the film, 'Yedakallu Guddada Mele' in which she was seen as a sex-starved woman driven by the thirst for male companionship.